This is a proposal for continuation of a long-standing, highly successful research training program for pre- and postdoctoral candidates in Digestive Health, Diseases, and Nutrition (DHD&N) at the University of Chicago. This program has had a tradition of providing rigorous scientific training to highly qualified and promising individuals fr careers in basic, translational, and clinical investigation. As a result, the program has successfully prepared generations of leaders in biomedical research and academia. The training faculty is highly multidisciplinary, collaborative, and stable, with almost all participating in mentoring past and current trainees over the past two funding cycles. The program enjoys strong institutional support that includes the selection of the DHD&N area in 2009 by the Division of Biological Sciences as one of five high priority areas to be promoted over the next decade. Accordingly, the program has been provided with state-of-the-art research and clinical facilities that are strategically located in the heart of the biomedical research complex that offes enabling technologies such as mouse genetic engineering and gnotobiotic facilities, next generation DNA sequencing, advanced `omic' technologies, light and digital imaging resources, computational resources for systems biology and integration, and a robust infrastructure designed to provide highly curated clinical metadata and biospecimens for translational investigators in the area of DHD&N. The program's curriculum is custom designed for training predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees, and includes both didactic, formal coursework and problem-based and hands-on training. At the same time, the curriculum adapts to the everchanging landscape of knowledge, technology, and clinical practice to insure the competitiveness, productivity, and success of all our trainees. Cross-cutting themes such as the gut microbiome, host-microbe interactions, personalized medicine, epigenetics, and mucosal immunology are the underpinnings of the program, promoting collaborative science, scholarship, and discovery. During the course of training, the progress and career development of all candidate are monitored closely by faculty advisory and program oversight committees. Trainees are taught how to think critically and creatively, and receive instruction in academic skills (e.g. grant and MS writing, instruction in mentorship, etc) and the responsible conduct of research. The program also proactively promotes diversity among its selected candidates and has developed a strong retention plan. Collectively, these efforts have resulted in a high success rate in producing high quality investigators who are well prepared to become independent investigators, future mentors, and academic leaders.